NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 11, 2005) — On June 26, Yamaha jazz pianist
Eric Lewis might have been mistaken for a driver on the Nextel Cup circuit. Instead Lewis brought his beautiful jazz stylings to the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. where he played the National Anthem. A special replica racecar, bearing the number 05, was built around Lewis' Yamaha
C6 – a first for Yamaha and NASCAR.
NASCAR.com described Lewis' rendition as "easily the best anthem performance of the season."
Lewis had the idea himself to build a racecar around the piano. He worked with Senior Marketing Manager of Infineon Raceway, Marla Kowalski, to turn his vision into a reality. Kowalski enlisted the help of Bill McAnally, owner of Bill McAnally Racing, who builds racecars for the NASCAR Grand National West series.
The structure encasing the piano was the shell of an actual racecar, complete with wheels. All that was missing was the engine. The Yamaha C6, a 6'11" grand piano, was then carefully fitted into the car.
As one of today's most sought after musicians, Lewis has worked with some of the jazz industry's biggest names, including Cassandra Wilson, Wynton Marsalis, Elvin Jones and Roy Hargrove. He is a 1999 winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition, rewarding his musical proficiency and recognizing the elusive combination of knowledge, command, passion and expression.
Yamaha has the proud distinction of managing more artist relationships than any other musical manufacturer in the world. Working with more than 3,500 musicians, these artists range in popularity from the mega superstar to the budding talent just starting a career. These musicians shine across the spectrum of musical genres and their abilities are as unique as the vast and wonderful Yamaha product line.
